Josh Hamilton heard boos during his infamous final
game with the Rangers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, the flat playoff loss to
Baltimore last fall.

Hamilton expects the same harsh response when he returns with his new club,
the Los Angeles Angels, on Friday afternoon for the Rangers’ home opener.

“I can’t waste my time thinking about stuff like that,” Hamilton said during
a spring conversation at the Angels’ facility in Tempe, Ariz. “I just hope the
folks who appreciated what I did while I was there let me know. And the other
folks, it really doesn’t matter.”

Hamilton left the Rangers with no regrets. He held up his end of the
deal.

The Rangers gave Hamilton the chance to become a full-time player by
obtaining him from Cincinnati before the 2008 season. Hamilton responded with
the best individual five-year run in franchise history in terms of personal
achievements combined with team accomplishments.

Juan Gonzalez had better numbers and more Most Valuable Player awards
throughout the 1990s, but he participated in all of one postseason win. Hamilton
helped the Rangers get to the World Series in 2010 and ’11. His two-run homer in
the 10th inning of Game 6 in 2011 was lost in the rubble of a bullpen
collapse.

If any team and fan base should hold a grudge against Hamilton, it is Tampa
Bay. The Rays selected Hamilton over right-hander Josh Beckett with the first
pick in the 1999 draft. Hamilton ran through his $3.96-million signing bonus in
search of the perfect high and never spent a day in the majors with the
Rays.

“The Rays should feel shorted, because they didn’t get the best of me,”
Hamilton said. “The Rangers got the best of me.

“I’m with another team, division rivals, now. This team is going to get the
best of me, too.”

Hamilton said he appreciated the extraordinary lengths to which the Rangers
went to help him develop as a player and a person. Because of alcohol and drug
addictions, Hamilton had appeared in only 367 professional games in nine years
when the Rangers obtained him. He needed help from the club in his daily
struggle to remain sober.

“It was a learning process for me,” said Hamilton, who maintains his home in
Westlake. “Being around guys like Michael Young and Adrian Beltre, guys who know
how to play the game, helped me. I learned from them. I started to figure out
how to be a professional and how the game should be played.

“It was a great time in my career. I developed a lot of great relationships.
I don’t think I’d have rather been in any other place with any other guys.”

The end came suddenly.

The Rangers tabled talks on a contract extension when Hamilton used alcohol
for one night in January 2012. After the season, the Rangers held back, waiting
for the market to develop.

Angels owner Arte Moreno stepped into the void. Moreno had been burned in the
past by free agents who used his offers as leverage with other teams. Moreno
offered Hamilton and his representative, Michael Moye, a five-year, $125-million
deal and no time to shop it. Moreno’s message was: Leave town, and the offer is
off the table. Hamilton signed.

“When you think about it, God takes you out of your comfort zone a lot of
times,” Hamilton said “It helps you grow.”

With the Rangers, Hamilton was the center fielder and No. 3 hitter. With the
Halos, he has moved to right field and bats cleanup behind Albert Pujols, a
three-time National League MVP while with St. Louis. Pujols was the Angels’
big-ticket free-agent acquisition before last season and finished below his
standards at .285 with 30 homers and 105 RBIs.

“There are good threes and fours everywhere,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia
said. “But if you look at the balance … these guys are terrific. They are going
to feed off each other.”

The Rangers know how to pitch to their free-swinging former teammate. They
will go after Hamilton like any other opponent, manager Ron Washington said.

Washington does not forget what Hamilton did for him and the club. Hamilton
is with the opposition now, but “I’ll always give him some love,” Washington
said.

“People remember what you do,” Hamilton said. “I hope they remember what I
did there. I gave them everything I had.”

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.